Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-06-02
How Protection Affects the Farmer.


Mr.. j. S. Moore has written the fol-
lowing to the New York Times about
the organized army ofprotection" and
the poor farmer "mob of consumers"
Ofall the poor, deluded, tariff-ridden
mob of consumers no one makes amore
pitiable show than does the farmer of
the United States. To him organized
protection is the daughter of the horse
leech, and he has to 'give," "give,"
"given from the moment he gets up in
the morning, when he washes his hands
with taxed soap, until he goes to bed
with a taxed "night-cap," if he still
wears one. From the cradle to the
grave he is taxed without any mitiga-
ton. To him protection of home in
dustry is simply to give and not to re-
ceive. What swindle it is, for in
stance, to put duty on wheat, when
all the wheat we imported during 1886
was 380, $40 bushels, while our exports
of wheat during the same year were
81, ,756, ,209 bushels, beside 5000, 900 bar
rels of flour. The farmer, serf to the
organized army of protection, is not
benefited one cent by the protection of
wheat. He gets in New York the
price, less freight and charges that the
wheat sells for in London. For instance,
l see that American wheat on the Goth
of April was selling in London for Is.
I'd. per 100 pounds, which is as near as
possible S1.03 for a bushel of sixty
pounds. The price in New York was
SO cents, leaving 10 cents bushel for
freight and charges and profit in Lon
don. Now, as the farmer in the United
States only gets the London price, less
charges, for his wheat, which is 93 cents
net, let me show how much granulaetd
sugar 10 bushels of wheat at SO cents
net will buy in London and how much
it will buy in New York. The price for
granulated sugar in London is los. per
hundred weight, or for 1l2 pounds,
which is as near as possible 81 cents per
pound: The price for the same kind OF
sugar in New York at wholesale is 81
cents per pound.
With these facts before us we find
that ten bushels of wheat at SO cents in
New York, or $3.50, will buy little
less than 162 pounds of granulated SUI
gar at 81 cents per pound. The same
ten bushels of wheat at SO cents net in
London, or $3.50, will buy as near as
possible 265! pounds of granuIated SUI
gar in London at 81 cents per pound.
In other words, when the American
farmer wants to turn ten bushels of his
wheat into sugar in London he gets
1861 pounds, and if he wants to do the
same thing in New York he gets only
162 pounds, or 103 pounds less.
In 1886 we exported 93,655, ,433 bush
els of Indian corn. The price of corr
in London is at present 20s. per 4S(
pounds, or, as near as possible, CEN
per pound. Now, bushel of corr
weighing so pounds is selling for Al:
cents in New York. That q cents thai
it is selling more for in London is fol
freight, etc. Anyhow the farmer doe
not get any more for his corn in New
York than in London, less expenses
Well, then, ten bushels of corn in New
York, at All cents, or $4.75 if convertet
into granulated sugar at 81 cents pc
pound, will buy as near as possible, 50
pounds of sugar i'm New York.
On the other hand, 10 bushels O
corn, the net price of which, les
charges, is $4.75 in London, if convert
ed into granulated sugar at 81 cents pei
pound, will buy fraction over 1885,
pounds, or So pounds more in London
than in New York.
| With these little statistics as mere
beginning will leave my fellow-mobs
men consumers, namely, the farmers, tt
reflect on the army organization of pro
lection. But I promise to show tn,
swindle up ad inffnitum.